Easter Reunion and Birthday

What a great holiday weekend!

First we had a visit from DJ's college roommate, Josh, and his lovely girlfriend, Tara.  

Their first night here we took them out to our fav local spot: The Farm.  The place has changed their dinner menu up a bit, so DJ enjoyed trying the new pork shoulder...

and Mel was impressed by the curried chickpea fritters (similar to falafel).

Hooray for fun times with old and new friends!

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Then on Sunday we headed out to Jersey for an Easter/Birthday celebration for Uncle Stan.  It was great spending time with the Harrises and the Rabineses - especially for Ava's first Easter!

 Ibee and Uncle Stan prepared a feast of Thanksgiving proportions.  Everything was so delicious, Mel's not even sure she stopped to breathe between bites.  :) 

Happy Birthday, Uncle Stan!

Korean BBQ at Shilla

The warm weather just isn't coming fast enough, so we decided to satisfy our craving for grilling by grabbing some Korean BBQ at Shilla NYC.

Brandon and Toats lent their expertise to the experience since they've tried it before.  It's pretty cool having the grill set in the middle of the dining table!  At first, DJ was not too pleased that there weren't separate tongs used for the salmonella-prone chicken.  But, we trusted that this place didn't want a lawsuit on their hands and ignored the utensil issue.  We sampled the beef, pork, and chicken, and it was all fantastic.  The marinades they used were tasty, and the side dishes lent a nice kick to the lettuce leaves you wrap the meat in.  We'll totally go back next time backyard grilling is a mission impossible.

Red Rooster Reunion

The Haile-Mariam family gathered in Harlem to share brunch with the Ethiopian ambassador to the U.N. - a former colleague and friend of Haile.  What better place to try than Marcus Samuelsson's new endeavor: Red Rooster?! 

We were lucky enough to have a friend who could hook us up with reservations (not usually allowed for brunch - thanks, Toats!), so we were spared a nearly 45-minute wait and got to sit at a comfortable table in the downstairs area.  We couldn't resist trying the nuts as an appetizer since they included injera chips, but sadly there weren't too many crispy pieces of injera to go around.

We did enjoy a wide variety of the entrees, ranging from:

chicken with lemon couscous...

 mac 'n' greens...

 salmon...

 and lamb sweet potato hash.

The food was tasty (though the desserts were a bit too sweet), but we agreed that it wouldn't have been worth a long wait.   But our overall experience was quite pleasant, and we were very impressed with the staff.  Everyone was very friendly and we felt quite comfortable chatting and relaxing. 

Tacos at Toloache

We were planning to grab some Mexican food with Vanitha and Anita, and Vanitha suggested we try somewhere other than our usual Rio Grande.  So we headed to the West Side to check out Toloache.

The drinks were fantastic.  Just the right amount of sweetness mixed with the right amount of "kick."  

The food was tasty too (nice seasoning and all), but we all had to chuckle at the portion sizes.  Vanitha's quesadilla was the size of one piece of toast.  

Mel's mushroom tacos (Her verdict: "Decent portion, but a little slimy.")

DJ's enchilada (His verdict: "North of the Border taste.")

Considering that their prices are not as modest as their servings, we suggest going to Toloache for drinks and the spicy guac.

Ribs with the Rabineses

We hopped over to New Jersey to visit with Amber, Ibee, and Little Ava - who is now standing up!


After an afternoon of playing, Amber was sweet enough to invite us to stay for dinner with her and Luis.  She had been slow cooking ribs in the crock pot all day.  SOOOO yummy and tender.  We definitely want to get a crock pot now.  Between the ribs, rice, okra, string beans, salad, and sangria, we were ready to move in!  :)  

 

Thanks for sharing such a wonderful meal with us, guys!

Our next goal: to get together to make ceviche and play spades.  :)

5 Napkin with the Frenchie

Catch up time with Carole!  We headed to 5 Napkin Burger in Hell's Kitchen.  DJ had been there once before, but - funny enough - had tried the sushi.  He said the sushi was actually great, so he was curious about the burgers.  

DJ tried the ahi tuna burger, Mel the veggie burger, and Carole the inside-out burger.

 inside-out burger

veggie burger

Verdict?  Tasty!  But there was nothing about it that stood out as extra special; the "5N sauce" was a lot like Thousand Island dressing and the buns were ordinary.  And it was a crowded Friday night, so we felt a bit rushed.  So we wouldn't necessarily say 5 Napkin would replace our favorite burger place, Rare, but it was a fun time and hearty meal.

Delicious in D.R.!

Our wedding scouting mission was a success!  Not only did we find a venue we love, but we got to relax and enjoy some AMAZING food.  

 We had to do our best to sample as much as possible... you know, to see what our guests would experience.  ;)  A tough job, but someone had to do it!

We can't wait for family and friends to taste it all next year!!!!  :)